Alert archive / Wisconsin / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1996

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 3, NWS La Crosse, WI

May 18, 1996La Crosse County, Vernon County, Wisconsin

NWS La Crosse, WI issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 18, 1996, 1:55 AM CDT for La Crosse County, Vernon County, Wisconsin. It was in force for 65 min. 2 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
May 18, 1996, 1:55 AM CDT (06:55 UTC)
Expired
May 18, 1996, 3:00 AM CDT
In force
65 min
Issued by
NWS La Crosse, WI
Area
Whole counties

Counties La Crosse County, WI, Vernon County, WI

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 18, 2:05 AM CDTHail 2Stoddard, WI
May 18, 2:10 AM CDTHail 0.75La Crosse, WI

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in.

The nearest sounding before it

Davenport, (KDVN), launched 00:00Z, 6.9 hours before the alert went out and 240 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Davenport, at 00:00Z on 1996-05-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2207 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Davenport, at 00:00Z on 1996-05-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 49 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
2207 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-291 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1767 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
15 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
49 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
168 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KLSE 180655
SVRLSE
WIC123-063-180800-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
155 AM CDT SAT MAY 18 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LA CROSSE HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  300 AM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN SOUTHWEST WISCONSIN
 
   ...WESTERN VERNON COUNTY
 
IN WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN
 
   ...LA CROSSE COUNTY
 
AT 155 AM...RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 20 MILES SOUTHWEST OF
LA CROSSE. THE STORM WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH AND WILL MOVE ACROSS
STODDARD BY 215 AM AND MIDDLE RIDGE BY 230 AM.
 
THOSE IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM SHOULD PREPARE FOR UP TO QUARTER SIZE
HAIL.
 
A TORNADO WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT FOR THE WARNED AREA. REMEMBER...
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE TORNADOES
WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING. REMAIN INSIDE A STRONG BUILDING
PREFERABLY ON THE LOWEST FLOOR AND EXPECT DAMAGING WINDS AND HAIL.
 
KING

The office that day

Everything else NWS La Crosse, WI issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 18, 2:13 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningARXMonroe47 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Wisconsin, 1996Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1996

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.